


Calvin

by shnuffeluv



Series: Danger Gays: The Extras [13]
Category: Cartoon Therapy (Web Series), Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Child Abandonment, Cussing, Gen, Genderfluid Character, LGBTQ Character, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2021-01-03 11:13:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21178472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shnuffeluv/pseuds/shnuffeluv
Summary: Remy wasn't sure what she expected when she answered the door to see Toby on the other side. What she got certainly wasn't on the list.





	Calvin

When Remy opened the house door, she was surprised to find Toby on the other side. “Tobes, hi,” she said.

“Is this a bad time?” Toby asked.

“Uh, not really, I just wasn't expecting to see you,” Remy said. “What’s up?”

Toby looked behind himself, towards his car, and grimaced. “I gotta admit, Rem, I’m in a bit of trouble. I accidentally picked up an emergency and I need some expertise.”

“Okay?” Alarm bells ringing in her head, Remy said, “What happened?”

Toby gestured for Remy to follow him. “It’s hard for me to explain, just...let me show you?”

Remy reluctantly followed Toby outside. Toby went to his car and Remy was surprised to see a young teen crying in the shotgun seat. Toby opened the door. “Calvin?” he asked softly. “This is...” Toby trailed off. “Wait. She, he, or they today?”

“She,” Remy said.

“Okay.” Toby turned back to the teen. “Calvin, this is your Aunt Remy.”

Remy blinked. “Aunt? Did you donate your sperm too without telling me?”

“No, he isn’t mine. He’s Vanessa’s.  _ Was _ Vanessa’s.” The boy started to cry again. “He’s...well, Vanessa kicked him out.”

“Why?” Remy asked.

Slowly, Calvin got out of the car and took off his hoodie, and Remy instantly saw the problem: a not-flat chest. “Oh,” she said.

“Yeah,” Toby scratched the back of his neck. “Calvin called me and I picked him up. I figured you and Logan and Patton might be able to help him. I’m not asking you to take him in, just to help him calm down some. Maybe go over some options with him. Lo’s back for the summer, right?”

“Got back last night,” Remy confirmed. “Calvin? Do you like tea? Hot chocolate? Coffee? I can make you a cup.”

“Hot chocolate would be nice,” Calvin said, voice just low enough to be this side of androgynous.

Remy nodded. “I’ll make you some, then. Both of you, come on inside.”

They followed her inside and Remy showed them into the kitchen, where Logan was currently playing with Vanellope. “Logan, perfect, I was going to call you down,” Remy said. “I’d like you to meet your cousin, Calvin. He might need a little advice from us and Patton.”

Calvin was eyeing Logan warily, but Logan just smiled and stood, offering his hand out. “Pleasure to meet you, Calvin. I like your hoodie, but I can’t say I blame you for taking it off in this weather.”

The poor boy looked like he was about to cry. “‘M not used to people using Calvin for me,” he mumbled.

“Yeah, people using your real name will sound strange at first,” Logan said. “But I’m really glad I got to meet you.”

“If you don’t mind my asking, um...why would Uncle Toby and Aunt Remy want me to talk to you?”

“Probably has something to do with the binder I’m wearing underneath my shirt,” Logan said casually.

Calvin blinked, eyes widening in wonder. “You’re trans?!”

“Yeah, three years on Testosterone, approaching four very soon,” Logan said with a smile. “Believe it or not, transphobic parents aren’t every parent, and transitioning does get better.”

Calvin grinned, and Toby looked significantly relieved. “Thank you both for being willing to talk to us,” Toby said. “Words can’t express my relief.”

Logan shrugged. “No problem, Uncle Toby. Does Calvin have a place to stay?”

“He’s staying with me,” Uncle Toby said. “I’m not letting him go anywhere else if he doesn’t want to, but I don’t know the first thing about being trans, so we both could use some advice from the three trans people in the family.”

“Oh, yeah, who’s Patton?” Calvin asked.

“I’m Patton!” Patton exclaimed, walking into the room wearing their pinkest dress underneath their newest score at the thrift shop, a lightly used bomber jacket. “They and them pronouns today, I say I’m genderqueer ‘cause that’s easier for most people.”

“Oh, cool!” Calvin said. “Mom never told me about any of you guys...pals? People.”

“Aunt Vanessa doesn’t know we exist, for the most part,” Patton said with a shrug. “Something about her not being accepting and acting like Ami’s parents.”

“Yeah, clearly I...clearly I misread the room when it came to Mom being accepting. She kept insisting that I was Susie, always had been Susie, and always would be Susie. But I’m not Susie. I’m Calvin.”

“Fan of  _ Calvin and Hobbes?” _ Logan asked.

“Just a little,” Calvin said with a blush.

“Hey, one of the reasons I’m named Logan is because I first heard the name after  _ Wolverine _ and when I realized I was trans I decided I liked it. No shame in naming yourself after a character you love,” Logan shrugged.

“Also! No shame in not changing your name either! Ami and I both kept our names the same! Well, mostly. Ami uses Sam as a middle name over Samuel, but I have always been Patton Liam Picani, and that’s a-okay!” Patton added.

Calvin looked around the room and hugged himself. “Thank you,” he mumbled. “I just...it’s been a long week.”

“A week?” Remy asked incredulously. “Tobes, you’ve been holding out on me for a week?”

“No,” Toby said, scowling as he continued, “Vanessa kicked him out a week ago. Calvin spent the next two days walking around, trying to find someone kind enough to let him borrow their phone so he could call me. Took me a majority of the day to drive over and grab him, and the rest of the next one to take him back to my place. At that point, he was so tired he passed out from exhaustion for the next...oh, sixteen hours? A fifth day was needed to get him some clothes that would fit, and a sixth to file a case report with the CPS folks. Today’s the first free day we’ve had to come and talk to you.”

“Yikes. I thought Vanessa had gotten  _ better, _ not  _ worse,” _ Remy grimaced.

“I thought so too,” Toby said. “I gave her an update about you guys and she was acting a little different after that, but nowhere near this bad.”

Remy sighed, grabbing a packet of instant hot chocolate mix from the pantry. She wouldn’t usually use that, but she didn’t have much by way of hot chocolate materials at home right now. “Oh, well. Live and learn. Or in Vanessa’s case, live and stay rooted in bigotry.”

Calvin flinched and Remy cringed. “Sorry, Cal. I forgot that wound’s still fresh for you. I’ve got the callouses from similar situations.”

There was a knock at the door and Emile called, “I’ll get it!” from upstairs.

Remy frowned. No one was supposed to come over to visit today, and two different people showing up out of the blue had Remy’s alarm bells ringing. She said softly, “Calvin, why don’t you come over to me for a minute? Out of line of sight of the door.”

Calvin did as told, whispering, “Why do you want that?”

“I just...have a bad feeling,” she said softly. “Come on, I’ll show you how to make proper hot chocolate with milk in a saucepan.”

Remy kept one ear trained on the door, and sure enough, he heard Vanessa’s voice snapping on the other side. Remy glanced at Toby and he nodded. Toby heard her too.

Calvin was somewhat happy getting to stir the milk in the saucepan until Vanessa practically shouted, “You will let me in, right now! I know that Susie’s here!” at which point, he went eerily still and looked up at Remy in fear.

Remy recognized the look in Calvin’s eyes clear as day. She had it in her eyes countless times growing up. The look of complete and utter horror as the thought of,  _ My mom’s going to kill me, _ came up.

“Toby, you stick with Calvin, I’ll handle Vanessa,” she instructed. “You how to recognize the ideal temperature for milk in hot chocolate anyway.”

Toby nodded and Remy stepped into the entrance of the kitchen as Toby moved over to Calvin and rubbed the poor kid’s shoulder. Vanessa caught sight of Remy from the doorway and shoved Emile to the side, striding up to Remy. “Remy, where’s Susie?!” she growled. “I know you have her!”

“I don’t know who you’re talking about,” Remy said, arching her eyebrows and putting on an innocent expression. “The only visitors I have are Tobes and a boy named Calvin.”

Vanessa snarled. “Not cute, Remy. I need to see my daughter.”

_ “He _ is no one’s daughter,” Remy said. “And considering you manhandled my husband, came in here demanding the impossible of me, and have been generally rude, I don’t want you talking to Calvin, either.”

Vanessa growled and Remy could see a striking resemblance to their mother in the action. “You know, you really take after Mom. And no, that’s not a compliment.”

“Remy, our mother was a saint, putting up with all your shit!” Vanessa exclaimed, jabbing a finger into Remy’s chest. “That whole gay gender-whatever crisis you’re going through has gone on long enough, and I don’t need you corrupting Susie with it!”

Remy laughed, a manic sound that made Vanessa back up a step from the sheer malice in it. “Listen, Vanessa. You forfeit your right to  _ Calvin _ the day you kicked  _ him _ out. You’re not the first parent I’ve had to explain this to, either. Logan’s parents treated him the same when he did what Calvin did, and later stumbled back into his life and promptly tried to take it over again. But you don’t get that chance, just like they didn’t! Unless you can refer to Calvin by his  _ proper name _ and  _ real pronouns, _ and he  _ actually wants _ to talk to you, then you’re not taking a step further into my house. Considering that you’re trespassing in the first place, I don’t think you should push your luck.”

“You already have five kids, what are you going to do with Susie?” Vanessa sneered. “Make her live in an attic?! You don’t have the space for her!”

“Maybe Remy doesn’t, but I do,” Toby said, from behind Remy. “Calvin called  _ me _ when he managed to get his hands on a phone after you confiscated his. I’ll be taking him in, and no, unless he agrees to it, you will not be talking to him.”

“So  _ you’re _ the reason CPS showed up at my door?” Vanessa seethed. “You bastard! You nearly got Johnny taken away from me!”

Toby stepped around Remy and Remy let him. Toby had a cool façade, but Remy could see her brother’s shaking fists as he stood stock still and glared down at Vanessa. “Remy’s right. You forfeit your right to talk to Calvin, and frankly, Johnny would probably be better off without your influence as well, but if he won’t leave until college, well, sooner or later he’ll find his way. For now, though, you’re not welcome here. And we have to help  _ your _ traumatized son move forward from everything  _ you _ did to him. If you get out now, I  _ might _ give you a chance to talk to Calvin before he turns eighteen and can make his own decisions.”

Vanessa fumed as she stalked out of the house, slamming the door behind her. Emile stared, bewildered, at the door, before turning to Toby and Remy. “Brilliant work, girl, and thanks for backing my wife up, Toby.”

Toby shrugged. “Hey, Remy did most of the work.”

Remy offered a hesitant grin and the three of them moved back to the kitchen, where Patton and Logan were hovering around Calvin, who was having a difficult time breathing. “You okay, Cal?” Remy asked.

“Will be,” Calvin managed to choke out. “Just a little...little panic attack.”

Toby sighed and walked over, hugging Calvin. “I’m so sorry about your Mom, Calvin.”

“It’s okay,” Calvin said. “Thanks for sticking up for me.”

“Of course,” Toby said. “That’s what real family does for each other. Your aunt and her husband taught me that.”

Remy offered a small laugh. “You’re too kind, Tobes.”

“You’re too modest,” Toby said. “You really sent that message home for me. And I can’t thank you enough for doing that. It might have just saved Calvin’s life.”

Remy smiled. “Hey, you would have done the right thing anyway, it just might have taken a few more bumps.” She walked over to Calvin and squeezed his shoulder. “Welcome to the Picani side of the family, Calvin. I think you’re going to like it with us.”

**Author's Note:**

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